Youth Services »»

Kauai United Way's Participating Agencies can be roughly divided into five categories. One of these categories is Youth Services. The percentage of dollars devoted to each can be found in our Annual Report (located in About Kauai United Way).

Junior Girl Scouts

Hawaii Children's Theatre

Eagle Scout Garren Venzon with parents, Iris and Jeff

A child care provider enjoys Playdoh with child.

Leadership Kauai

PATCH

Many of the programs supported by Kauai United Way are designed to help people in times of crisis. These include natural disasters as well as personal calamities, such as the need for rehabilitation services, domestic disputes and related violence, simply not having enough money to pay for clothes, food, rent or utilities or the serious illness or death of a loved one.

Other youth services are different. Lives would not immediately be endangered if funding for these youth services were to disappear. Yet they are vital to the well-being of our community.

They guide our young people to learn and have fun by providing constructive activities and positive role models. Youthful energy that is channeled in ways that are good for our kids might otherwise be spent in destructive behaviors which harm our community and corrupt the development of our young people. Youth services actually prevent crime and other social problems. They foster fewer unwanted pregnancies and decrease the drop-out rate.

They also help our young people grow up to be well-adjusted adults. Studies have shown that kids who have been actively involved with organized activities growing up are burdened with fewer family and legal problems in their futures than kids who are deprived of them.

These programs also represent the vital ?prevention? side of the drug abuse problem. Of course, law enforcement aimed at those who profit by poisoning our people, rehabilitation of addicts and the reintegration of recovered addicts to our community are critical services. But it is far more efficient to prevent abusive behaviors before they occur and that?s where these programs excel. Youth programs are the real ?drug abuse prevention? programs. They are unquestionably effective at reducing the demand side of the illegal drug equation.

The Girl Scouts of Hawaii - Kauai and Boy Scouts of America - Aloha Council are examples of programs which have demonstrated success in guiding the development of young people. The beneficial activities provided by the Boys and Girls Clubs' Lihue, Kapaa and Waimea clubhouses, as well as Camp Naue and the many programs made possible by the YMCA of Kauai, have proven to be very popular recreational outlets for Kauai's young people. The Hawaii Children's Theater offers cultural enrichment and performing arts programs (with the availability of scholarships), which are especially important in our isolated community. Parents Attentive to Children (PATCH) provides child care training, referrals and other services all designed to benefit our most precious resource, our children.

The Leadership Kauai program is designed to nurture leadership skills for development of Kauai?s social service, government and other community leaders of tomorrow.

What if you don't have a child of your own -- should you still support youth services? Definitely! The behavior and development of our young people affects us all today, and in the future, as well, when they will be our island's leaders. Helping Kauai's young people grow up into well-adjusted adults is in all our interests.

Your contributions to Kauai United Way help keep youth services and many other vital programs available to our community, making life on Kauai better for us all.